The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-04-13
ITO BE CONTINUED
THE LAST OF THE euFFALoes.

Rumors OF n Large Herd In an Out of
the Way Place in Mexico.
| was told when | came here two months
ago that if | wanted to find out what was
trustworthy concerning the determination of
the buffalo, Capt Jack Bridges was the man
TO see. As Bridges was then hunting in the
Seralers mountains in Mexico, | took the cars
TO Gallego, where, through the courtesy of
II L. Comfort, superintendent of the Mexi-
can Central Railroad company, | was pro
vided with an inofTensive broncho to ride
over TO Bridges camp, some thirty eight
miles
Capt. Jack, who for years past has been
one of the most distinguished and fearless
hunters in the west was the first man to
make contract 20 provide large number
of buffalo hides. The idea suggested itself to
pelt dealing firm in Leavenworth. kas,
who sent for Bridges telling him to procure
200 hides at once, as they wished TO try
them in the English market Bridges signed
the contract, and hiring "A lot of "skinners,"
began his destructive warfare against the
bison. In five weeks and four days he killed
with his own hand l las buffaloes, and the
hides of these animals constituted the first
shipment of buffalo robes to Europe. While
the contract very lucrative, owing to the
great abundance of the animals, the slaugh-
ter disgusted Bridges, who was natural born
| sportsman, so much that he refused to be in
strumental in the future in any wholesale
| destruction of good meat He says that he
| has only been sorry but once for what lie did
and that has been always. Since then he has
| killed about 5000 head, but only when meat
| was required by the different expeditions for
which he guide. Having shot buffalo
| from British Columbia TO Texas, and having
| lived for the last thirty-live years ON the
great game ranges of the west, he is well quail
| flied TO speak authoritatively on the subject
"As far as know. said Bridges when talk
| ing on the subject "and try TO keep myself
| posted there are not over GOO buffalo left in
| the United States. There are about POO in
| the Yellowstone park and these will be the
| sole survivors in year or two In the pan
handle of Texas there were about 100 These
do not include those on the ranch of Charley
Goodnight, who has lot of them semidomes-
ticated Goodnight's ranch is near Vernon,
in Armstrong county. There are about 10
| in Kanzas and the Indian Territory, five or
| six in Colorado, ten in Montana and five in
| Dakota The others are ia a little herd in an
out of the way place. which ] do not wish
made public"
| "This then, sums up the buffaloes leftY7
| "Yes. though there may be struggling
| pair two IL southern Texas. l am told
bulls were seen south of San Antonio the
other day, ard that they were followed up
| and one killed But / have been told twice
recently, once by an Apache and the other
| tine by a Wacoe Indian, that ON the big
| plains 800 miles south OF here, in a country
bat very rarely Travelled, there is a very large
| herd. l will know soon, for am going down
| there this spring. But the drought has been
! so severe in Mexico this season that the game
has suffered terribly and has had 10 travel
many miles for water. New York Sun